Merckel cell carcinoma of the skin treated with somatostatin analogue and mTOR inhibitor exhausted after primary surgery, adjuvant radiotherapy and palliative chemotherapy.

Merkel cell carcinoma is a highly aggressive neuroendocrine skin tumor. This type of tumor is primarily based on Merkel cells located in the basal layer of the epidermis. The tumor occurs predominantly in elderly individuals (average age 69 years) and has a strong tendency to local recurrence and locoregional metastasis.

The role of sibutramine in weight reduction.

Background: The effectiveness of pharmacologic support with sibutramine along with the preservation of dietary and regimen measures is shown in a group of long-term treated patients at the Metabolic Clinic of the University Hospital in Hradec Králové.

Methods: In ambulatory patients, basic anthropometric parameters as body weight, BMI, waist circumference and the total amount of adipose tissue were compared before substitution with 10 mg sibutramine and after a four-month therapy. This group included 94 patients who were administered the same dose of sibutramine for the whole period of time.

[Changes in immune reactivity in cancer patients].

It appears that the long-accepted paradigm that cytostatic and radiation therapy cause only immunosuppression, is not so clearly true. With regard to new knowledge in cancer immunology field, it seems that not only cytostatic and radiation therapy plays an important role in the alteration of immune system. There are many other factors influencing immunity like tumour environment itself, the use of immunomodulatory drugs or even the mental condition of cancer patients.